


Seeds of Discord Part 20

by kbj1123



Series: Wonder Woman & Captain America [21]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Wonder Woman - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Crossover Pairings, F/M, One True Pairing, Sexual Content, Superheroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-16
Updated: 2015-02-16
Packaged: 2018-03-13 07:34:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3373139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kbj1123/pseuds/kbj1123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone or something is causing violent riots to erupt all over the U.S., and whatever it is, it wreaks havoc with both Wonder Woman's health and Bruce Banner's ability to keep his rage in check.</p><p>While waiting for new orders, Diana and Steve discover information that is bound to complicate their professional and personal lives.  Part 2, they react to some of the news.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seeds of Discord Part 20

Steve folds up his newspaper and walks to the large, paned window overlooking the street. He uses his hand to make a circle on the moisture-fogged glass and looks outside at the purple-black clouds. Leaves and small branches that have been ripped from their trees go streaking through the air along with icicles, occasionally thumping towards him. He sighs. “There’s gotta be a way to do some damage control,” he states. “We’ll come up with something to fix this.”

Diana unwinds herself from the sofa and joins him at the window. “Demeter is angry and sad. She misses her daughter.” He puts his arm around her shoulders and pulls her close. She leans her head on him. “And yet,” she continues, “I have never heard of Demeter actually visiting Persephone in Hades. She blames her brother for the loss of her daughter.”

“Sounds familiar,” Steve replies quietly. “Do you miss her?” 

Diana says nothing. They stare out at the horizontal rain for several moments. The lights blink and go out. A vanilla-scented candle glows on the coffee table. “At least now we can’t watch the news,” he says. Diana extricates herself from Steve’s hold and walks to the candle. She carries it to the kitchen, and Steve follows. He locates the drawer that contains the flashlights and taper candles, and they set about illuminating the apartment. The candles create white auras throughout. Diana looks more otherworldly and angelic than ever, he thinks, as they make their way back to the living room. “You didn’t answer my question.”

She turns toward him. Her skin is luminous in the dark. “I do miss her sometimes,” she replies. “In Themyscira, there was no need to conceal who I was. I was the princess, the champion of our land, and also Diana and no distinction ever had to be made. I can’t go back there anymore. Here, I am two people, but if I reveal my two identities we will never have privacy or peace. I can never be whole. I don’t know where I belong.”

He takes a few steps over to her and hugs her to his chest. They listen to the rain and hail splatter against the window and onto the ground outside. “Hey,” he says, taking up her left hand. “See those two rings? You belong with me. You said so yourself that very first time, remember?” He kisses her hand and hugs her again. “Not having a secret identity isn’t all that bad. I mean, sometimes you have to wear a ball cap and dark glasses, but people usually leave you alone once the novelty wears off.” She responds with another deep breath. Steve wonders at how moody she has been lately. “Look,” he says and cups her face in his hands. “It’s gonna be okay. I mean, when we get around to starting a family people are gonna put two and two together if Wonder Woman’s pregnant, right?”  


She moves away from him and goes back to the window, where the rain spatters and smears her reflection. “I hardly think that’s a consideration for right now. In the past two weeks we’ve been captured and tortured, one of our closest friends is missing and probably being experimented on, and now this. How am I supposed to protect people if their trust in me is compromised?”

“Come away from the window,” he tells her. “Please.” She turns around. Sometimes, he thinks, she is so beautiful his heart might break open. When she approaches him, he once again enfolds her, guiding her head to his shoulder. She wraps her arms around his waist this time. “One way or another it’s gonna be okay,” he says, even though he isn’t entirely sure what ‘okay’ means. He’s sure she doesn’t believe it, but she looks at him with eyes that are calm sea. “Do you really think so?” He hesitates, nearly losing himself in her gaze. “I hope so sweetheart. I guess it depends on what part of life we’re talking about.” 

They stand in the cold candlelight holding onto each other, listening to the storm outside. “What WILL you do, y’know, when that happens?” 

“I haven’t given it much more thought,” she replies. “It isn’t an issue at the moment. Right now, I want to fix what’s happening in the world, save our friend and enjoy being a couple, without worrying about the future too much. Why are you so fixated on procreation lately? Are you in a hurry?”

He kisses her forehead. “Not really I guess,” he says. “I kind of like the idea though. I mean, if it happens you’re not thinking of, uh, NOT having it are you?”

“It’s unlikely. But for me it’s a matter of practicality. I do want that life with you: the one that we saw in the vision, just not yet.” She leans her head against his heart and he rests his chin on top of her head. The wind thumps against the windows so hard the building shakes and the candlelight’s’ haloes ripple across the room. “Is it really that important to decide what to do now? Why can’t you let this go?” 

He squeezes his eyes tight and scrunches his hand through her hair. He doesn’t know why. Or maybe he does know but doesn’t want to say. “Please tell me, because I am having trouble understanding,” she says into his shirt, and the words sink into his skin. He sighs heavily and listens to the storm rage. “Because,” he eventually replies, “we disagree in theory and I’m worried about what might happen in practice. Because I’m afraid you might not want a kid as much as I do. Because we aren’t using anything and we’re letting nature take care of itself. Because we’re doing that since we don’t know if either of us even can have kids, in reality, except for some prophesy your mother showed you. Because…”

She smiles up at him and his stomach flutters, his knees go just a little bit weak, he loses his entire train wreck of thought. It’s her in this light. He’s absolutely powerless against those kind eyes and that patient smile. She could get him to agree to anything right now. Every time she looks at him and their eyes meet, he is lost. He focuses on her parted lips. Without willing it, his posture relaxes. “You really have no idea what you do to me, do you?” He says quietly. It’s more of a statement than a question. In response, she reaches up and softly touches his face. It makes his nerve endings tingle and he shivers from his scalp down to his groin. “You worry too much.” Her voice is barely above a whisper. “Convince me. Help me believe that I can be a wife and a hero and one day a mother. Convince me that I am already one whole person, without any labels at all.”

His throat grows thick and he can feel his pulse quicken. He bends his neck and tilts his head toward hers. When he kisses her, her lips and tongue are soft and warm. They taste and smell lightly honeyed from her tea. He runs the tip of his tongue over her mouth, savoring, and then pulls his head back slightly. “I know you’re all those things because you’re you,” he whispers. “And you’re not in this alone. I’m here.” She brushes her lips against his jugular and he leans in and kisses her again. Her tongue darts between his lips and he pulls it in with his own mouth. The wind whips itself into frenzied howls and he tries to shake that feeling of protective possessiveness again. “She’s mine before she’s anyone else’s, including the world’s, especially the media’s,” he thinks. He knows it isn’t true, any more than it is of himself. She’s completely autonomous. He’s known that from the moment they met. She is with him because this is the path she’s chosen. She’s his partner and his anchor. Each of them is a symbol, regardless of politicians; they are protectors of the public; they are members of a unique team whose purpose is service. Neither of them would have it any other way, even as he floats his fingers down her spine, and she responds with the softest sigh and presses into him. “We could be just this,” he thinks. “We could be just this moment and nothing else would matter.” 

Their cell phones ring simultaneously. “Guess duty calls,” he said unhappily. They part and Diana grabs a flashlight from an end table. They gather their gear, snuff the candles and, as ordered, leave home once again to make their way to the building’s foyer. They wait for the car that would take them to SHIELD’s heliport hangar annex. “I wonder where we’re going,” he muses, trying to lighten the mood. “Hopefully not Alaska again!” She grins back at him and squeezes his hand. “You should commission a wetsuit and an inflatable raft in your pack, just in case." She smiles, but her voice registers uncertainty.


End file.
